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1541
The first cathedral was adobe and thatch, and a fire damaged the next
The first cathedral was built in 1541 of adobe, with a thatched roof, on the site of the present Templo de Santa Maria de Gracia. In 1548 the region was declared a diocese and the church became the cathedral of the city. On 30 May 1574, during Mass, neighbors fired shots into the air. Some of the bullets fell onto the cathedral and started a fire that severely damaged the building.
1618
It was finished in 1618 and not consecrated until 1716
A new cathedral was designed by the master architect Martín Casillas and commissioned in 1561 by King Felipe II. Funds were scarce and the work was slow. It was completed in February 1618, and in April of that year the Blessed Sacrament was moved into it. It would not be consecrated until 12 October 1716.
Two towers
Two earthquakes felled the towers, and the present ones date from 1854
An earthquake in the early morning of 31 May 1818 made the towers and the dome collapse. The replacements were destroyed by another earthquake in 1849. The new towers were designed by Manuel Gómez Ibarra, a Guadalajara native who had worked on the Hospicio Cabañas. Built between 1851 and 1854, they are covered with Talavera-style yellow and blue mosaics. The rest of the building is Spanish Renaissance.
Still at risk
Earthquakes still threaten it, and a murdered priest is buried inside
The cathedral was damaged by earthquakes in 1932, 1957, 1979, 1985, 1995 and 2003, and a slight tilt of the north tower and structural damage to the dome are current threats. It holds the remains of three cardinals, several former bishops and Fr. Juan Jesús Posadas Ocampo, who was assassinated in 1993 at the Guadalajara International Airport.
Day 1, evening
It comes after Government Palace of Jalisco.
More stories from this trip idea
The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article Guadalajara Cathedral, and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.